The Last Night
by J.W. Cart
Summary: Two angels and a human wait out the last night in a doomed city.


The Last Night

Gabriel pulled the curtain away from the window to peer outside in the dark street. There was a large group of men standing out there, they were discussing something. What, Gabriel couldn't tell. He sighed and dropped the curtain back and turned to his companion. "They don't look friendly," he said, brushing back a lock of his dark hair out of his face. Michael smiled angelically. It annoyed Gabriel when he did that, it made him look like a smug bastard.

"I imagine not. We are strangers here, after all."

Their host, Lot, came up to them, rubbing his hands together. He was going bald, Gabriel noticed, despite his youngish age. "You shouldn't stay near the windows like that. Please, come, sit. I'll deal with them if need be."

"You heard our host, Gabe," Michael said with a gleeful look on his cherubic face. "Stop skulking at the window."

Gabriel glowered at him and clutched the hilt of his sword. But with his head held high, he started to walk to the back of the house.

Someone knocked on the door as soon as he left the window though.

"Lot!" a man called out. "Lot, we know you have guests. Why don't you let them out so that we can get to know them!" This set off a tittering of rough laughter from the assembled group.

"You have to forgive them. They're drunk." Lot pleaded to his two guests, looking nervously at the way Gabriel clutched the hilt of his sword. Michael dropped an arm around Gabriel's shoulders, causing him to scowl.

"They want to get to know us?" he said, sounding shocked, "And this is a bad thing?" Gabriel elbowed him in the ribs.

"Not like that…" Lot fretted. "I'll talk with them." He walked over to the door and opened it cautiously.

"Lot, be a good man. Let us enjoy your guests just as much as you have been. It's not nice of you to keep them all to yourself. They're so good looking," the spokesman for the group said. This was greeted with cheers and several lewd suggestions.

"Is that even possible?" Michael wondered at one of them.

Shrugging out from underneath Michael's arm Gabriel replied, "I don't know Mikey, why don't you go with them and find out?" This time Michael frowned. He hated the name "Mikey" as much as Gabriel hated "Gabe".

Lot meanwhile had stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

"Wait… where did Lot go?" Michael asked, looking around, panicked.

"He's outside! Stupid… stupid man."

As one the two of them went to the door and flung it opened. Gabriel snatched Lot and dragged him back into the house while Michael set off a distracting flare of light that blinded them. The men screamed out in fright and shock before dispersing in a confused mass, not certain what had happened.

"I am so going to enjoy destroying this place," Gabriel muttered as Michael checked to see if Lot was alright.

"We're going to have to get you out of here," Michael said. "Go, get your family together. This city is going to burn in the morning and you can't be here when it does."

Lot's eyes widened as he realized what – who – he had as guests in his home and nodded. "Yes. Of course. I will do as you say." He left the house as soon as it was safe to go find his sons in law and his daughters.

"I wonder if we should have gone with him," Gabriel mused after Lot had left.

"He's a man, and a good one. He can do this on his own. He has to do this on his own," Michael said, as he poured himself a glass of wine. He sipped it, savoring the taste, "This is good stuff."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his companion. "I remember from dinner."

"You need to learn to live a little, you know that. You don't have to be dour all the time."

"Dour? I'm not dour."

"Yes, you are," he said gesturing with his glass. "You even dress in black all the time."

"What's wrong with black? It's perfectly functional."

"It's dark and moody. Raphael says that it shows that you're discontent with your lot in life and you're thinking about rebelling."

Gabriel snorted at this, "Raphael has been getting into pop psychology a few thousand years too early. He's practically a - what are they going to be called? Chestie…?"

"Hippie."

"Right. That. I remember catching him tie-dyeing flowers."

"Is that what happened? I remember roses being all solid colors one day and the next day it's like some went and mixed them all."

"That was him, alright."

Michael shook his head, looking amused, "You sure you don't want any of the wine."

"Nah. I don't know. It just doesn't do anything for me."

The two of them fell silent and glanced over at the door, where Lot had left. Gabriel shifted nervously on his feet and crossed his arms. Michael stared into his glass.

"They're funny… aren't they?"

"Humans?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah."

"They are. It's the freewill, I think."

"Yeah, has to be."

A woman came out into the room, where they were talking and peered at them worriedly. "Where is my husband?" she asked. Gabriel glanced at Michael, causing him to roll his eyes.

"You husband has gone to collect your family, your daughters and sons-in-law. You must prepare to leave for in the morning the city will be destroyed," he said in such a way that she knew he spoke the truth. She gave a gasp and brought her hand to her mouth.

"I will prepare my daughters and supplies for the journey," she said, "I can not say that I am happy to go, but I understand."

"Be at ease, for your family will be saved."

She nodded and withdrew to the back of the house.

"Brave woman," Gabriel said softly.

"Yes." Michael agreed.

The two of them lapsed into silence, having no need to talk any more. They didn't need to plan what was going to be done, they knew it already. Everything, for them, had been decided long before they came to this city.

"She had a beautiful laugh," Gabriel said, after a while, breaking the silence. Michael looked up from where he was inspecting a tapestry on the wall.

"Sarah?"

"Yes."

"I … yes, she did. It will bring her as much joy when the child is born."

"The expression on Raphael's face was fantastic, when she laughed at him."

"Well she did have a point. A woman at her age giving birth to a child?"

"I think he was expecting her to be grateful to him and his pronouncement."

"Only one she should be grateful to," Michael said.

"I know, I know. And she will."

Lot came back at that point. He had a dejected and sorrowful look on his face. He gave a heavy sigh and shook his head when Gabriel and Michael looked at him. "They thought I was jesting," he said simply.

"Then go, rest. We will wake you in the morning when it is time to go," Michael said gently. "You have a long journey ahead of you."

Lot gave another sigh and nodded. "Thank you… thank you for saving my family."

"Of course. For a righteous man, for a man who has shown us courtesy, we could do no less."


End file.
